scott.smith posted:OK, so it is a locomotive issue.Thanks for everyone's input on this. If I remove one of my 3236 MTH/Ives engines and restart the TIU and WIFI everything works. When I place the locomotive back on the track everything loses signal.
So now I need to fix the 3236 locomotive. We have a PS2 locomotive 3V board. When I first placed it on the track there was a spark. Tried it again no problem and it added to the remote perfectly.
First time I tried to reverse the engine the light switched directions but the engine didn't after a couple of tries it worked fine......later on I was going to run it with the WIFI and that is when everything started with my WIFI problems. It still worked fine with the remote. Add the WIFI and the signals are lost to the WIFI. My guess is that there is a short somewhere that is causing the signaling issue I am open to suggestions on the repair remedy.Scott Smith
Sorry Scott! Now it's me not looking at the issue.
The problem with this one from here, is it would be hard to pin down what's causing it outside of something obvious like a pinched wire.
I would guess it's a board issue and would need to be tested in a jig or proper frame set-up. Now you have to narrow down the issue and I would look for things like a wire that has rubbed on the frame right at the trucks. I don't have or have worked on this particular engine to know it's faults. I do know that the wires to the trucks is always a weak link!
Like posted before, don't put a good board inside this engine until you narrow the issue down! Just try this board set outside the engine. Marty F has posted ideas like unplugging stuff one at a time to narrow down a short. You don't need the smoke unit plugged in for example. The 8 pin harness can also go. The 12 wire can even go but you won't have sound.
If it is a wire from a truck issue grounding to frame for example, it must be intermittent enough so not to be throwing the breaker. Do you use MTH bricks? Z4000 or other Z? Lionel PH180s? Any power meter to show amp draw?
I think an email to GGG would help you the best here! When these board sets are on the way out, it can be frustrating to find the issue. Intermittent stuff is like chasing your tail.
Don't work on powered track!
Unplug everything at the board set and then only plug the 7 wire harness that carries the tach, and power wires to the board set. If the issue is gone, we can move forward. If it remains, you need to pull the board and test it in something else to see exactly what is shorting.
Heck, I've even seen shorted ditch light wires on an AC6000 causing me grief until I found it. I've had a truck that had an internal short from a missing isolator. I've had bad pots, etc. That's what I get for buying used stuff! It's a learning adventure.
